2020 certainly will certainly pass with no one grieving its' departure. What felt like nearly a whole decade of ordeals and intrigue and unrest, I will gladly place that volume on the backside of the bookcase never to be opened again. One hopes 2021 will not be the sequel although in some respects it could be and perhaps for years to come. The impact was a large meteorite in the groin.
Methinks I rambled on too much. It is was it is.
In this new covidian era, you better watch out and you better not cry, 'cause the Santa drones are coming to town. And man are they ticked!
This is quite honestly the pandemic Santa we needed- harmless and antiseptic. That is unless you believe this is the ticked off Santa drone. Then you can just stay home. Coal for you.
On to other items. Namely signs of beer.
A mid-century clock promoting the beer of choice of your fathers and grandfathers if they lived up in Minnesota or the Dakotas.
As a child I only recall 3 brands of beer that were nearly everywhere- Grain Belt, Hamm's, and Schmidt. The later 2 had breweries not far from where I spent my first 5 years of life. The Schmidt brewery on West 7th was about a mile a way and to a child seemed to tower over the West 7th neighborhood with its blinking signage. We usually got water from their well. Now the brewery is some kind of artist loft living space.
Grain Belt was ubiquitous in the upper Midwest- Minnesota and the Dakotas. It was often referred to as Premium. My Grandmother and Uncle stocked a fridge with cans or bottles of the lager. My Father not so much. He would usually have a case of Pfeifer's beer on hand. Pfeifer's had purchased Schimdt sometime in the 1950s and through the turbulent beer consolidations of the 60s and 70s found itself part of the Heilman Brewing Company. Pfeifer's was native to Michigan but went regional to compete. I suspect it was a pretty low cost brand when my Dad drank it and was nearing the end of its existence.
Next we have one of those popular Hamm's light up signs with an woodsy outdoorsy motif. I don't think this one is a scroller but it is one I vaguely recall seeing at the bars my Dad would frequent after softball in the 1980s. I suspect those days when you could bring your 8 year old to a bar are long gone. I did bring my 5 years old to an ale house in the neighborhood- we just could not sit at the bar according to some regulations.
Schmidt's, Hamm's, and Grain Belt are still around. Schmidt's and Hamm's are produced as what I call a nostalgia label- little marketing and small volumes.
Grain Belt is produced by Schell's and is doing pretty well for itself. In addition to Premium the mainstay label, Schell's also brews an amber lager called Nordeast and seasonally brews BLU, a blueberry lager. Most liquor stores have Grain Belt. Some bars may have Nordeast on tap but Premium only available in bottles.
That's all for 2020. Cheers for a better 2021!
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